Violet
by InAnotherLife11
Summary: What if the Warden had a daughter? What if she was nothing like her mother? What if she fell for one of the delinquents? Hmmm.
1. Going Home

**Chapter One**

**Going Home**

_Man, it's high time they got a new bus_, I thought to myself as we were riding along.

It had already been two hours since I left the airport. I had put all the windows down on my way to the back seat so I could get some sort of breeze, even if the air was as hot as fire.

"Bernie!" I whined. "Can't you go any faster?" I yelled up to the bus driver. I was bored out of my mind even though I had Fall Out Boy blasting in my ears, a notebook to sketch in, and a bottle of warm Jack Daniel's I had been surreptitiously taking swigs of every now and then.

"I'm going the speed limit, Miss Walker," he called back sweetly.

I sat up, resting my arms on top of the back of the seat in front of me, "Bernie, we're in the middle of the desert! There is no speed limit!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Walker, but this bus is way past its prime. It just doesn't run like it used to!" He replied.

"Tell me about it," I mumbled under my breath as I took another swig of Jack, sitting back in my seat and examining the sketch I had completed.

_Mmmm,_ I thought happily.

I was going to miss the Jack while I was here. Surely, Mother would freak if she caught me with it.

*

I had been digging all morning. I could feel the hot sun beating down on my back and the sweat running down my forehead and neck as I relaxed in the dirt around my hole next to Squid, Magnet, and Barfbag.

"Hey, X-Ray! What's up with you, man? You've been acting weird for the last couple days now," Magnet called over to where X-Ray and Armpit sat together around Armpit's hole.

We had all noticed how X-Ray had been quieter recently; keeping to himself in the tent instead of joining us in the Wreck Room and only really talking to Armpit and Squid occasionally while ignoring the rest of us, but none of us had called him out on it…

I waited to see how he would respond; worried he might flip out on Magnet right here and now.

"Hey, why don't you mind your own business? You don't know me!" X-Ray yelled back before returning to his conversation with Armpit.

That quickly shut Magnet up.

I saw Armpit roll his eyes and then mutter, "Hey, man, be cool," to his friend.

"Hey guys, leave him alone," Squid said to us as he took a bite of his sandwich and left us to join Armpit and X-Ray.

"There's something going on with those three," Magnet stated, looking over at them suspiciously as soon as Squid was out of earshot.

"Like what?" Barfbag asked, looking confused.

He shook his head, "I don't know, but they obviously don't wanna tell us what it is."

"You're being paranoid," I said, not believing there could be anything serious going on between our three tent mates.

"No, that's your job, Zig. When I get suspicious there's actually a logical reason behind it," he said as he finished his lunch and quickly went back to his hole.

*

I bit my lip as I took my charcoal crayon and added a little bit of shading underneath the eyes of the girl I had been drawing.

Some people may find me weird, but I was actually nervous about coming home. I always was. If I were to tell this to anyone who didn't know the truth about my home (which was almost everyone), they would probably think my father beat me or I was in one of those families that were constantly yelling and screaming at each other. But no, that wasn't why I was nervous.

I was nervous because my mother was the Warden of Camp Green Lake, the most isolated detention facility for juvenile delinquents boys.

Yes, I said boys, as in ALL boys. As in NO girls (besides me and my mom, of course).

I had every right to be nervous. The boys were constantly coming in and going out of the camp. There were many new faces every summer, but there were usually some familiar ones, too.

Of course, sometimes I wondered why I even bothered to be worried. Once you've met my mother you _know_ not to mess with her, and the biggest offense you could ever make at Camp Green Lake would be to mess with me. I'd hate to see her explode on _that_ poor kid.

Thankfully, no one has ever actually _tried_ to mess with me, or else they'd probably be back on the bus in a heartbeat and sent straight to jail to finish their sentence (and an extended one if my mother has anything to say about it).

I was a little excited, too, about returning. I have made friends every now and then around here. Well, ever since I was about thirteen. Before that, Mother really didn't want me walking around the camp alone. She had always been afraid that someone would grab me and hold me hostage in order to get to her. So, I would always have to be chaperoned when I exited the cabin or else I'd stay cooped up inside all summer.

The bus finally stopped.

I hadn't been paying attention. I hadn't even noticed the hundreds of holes as we passed by them. I was surprised it hadn't even crossed my mind to look out the window to see if any of the boys were still digging.

"We're here, Miss Walker," the bus driver announced.

I quickly stuck my bottle of Jack, notebook, and purple iPod nano in my purple backpack. Bernie had already moved my suitcase outside; I had left it up between the front seat and the driver's seat when I first got on the bus.

I walked up the aisle and as I exited the bus, I waved goodbye to the bus driver. "Thanks so much, Bernie! I'll see what I can do about getting you a better bus!"

He chuckled, "See you at the end of summer, Miss Walker."

There wasn't a single person around as I looked over the shabby wooden buildings and then the tents farther down.

_The boys must still be out digging_, I figured.

I didn't move as Bernie backed up the bus, turned it around, and headed back in the direction he had come from back to wherever he lived. I watched him leave for a minute, and then turned back to face the several buildings in front of me.

"Home sweet home," I said to myself.

It was good to be back under the hot sun I had become so used to after all these years. Funnily enough, I actually missed the heat during the nine months I spent in Boston. Boston was a completely different world compared to this one.

*

"Hey guys! Look!" I heard Magnet yell out as I used my shovel to measure my hole to see how much I had left to dig.

I looked up to find him pointing in the opposite direction of the camp, where I saw the big yellow school bus headed our way in a cloud of dust.

"Must be a new kid," Barfbag spoke up.

I looked around to see that all of the boys had stopped digging and were now shielding their eyes from the sun to look at the bus.

"No, man, there aren't any vacancies," Squid added after a moment, but what I found odd was that he didn't sound bothered by it.

Why were we getting a new kid if there weren't any vacancies?

The last vacancy I could remember was when that kid from F-Tent broke his leg in two places after getting in a fight with one of his tent mates and falling into a hole, landing on his leg the wrong way. It wasn't pretty.

Everyone else seemed to look as confused as I felt as we watched the bus go past us. Everyone except X-Ray, that is. For some unknown reason, he was grinning, like he knew something we didn't, and he went back to digging.

*

"Mr. Sir!" I called out as I dragged my suitcase into the first building.

I saw him sitting in his chair behind his desk, snacking on sunflower seeds. He looked the same as always with his sideburns, his pink cowboy shirt, and his huge belly. He stood up the moment he heard me speak. "Chloe! You're home!"

He jumped out of his chair and rushed over to hug me and the smell of aftershave immediately invaded my nostrils.

"Yep!" I responded as he let go of me and took a step back."For the whole summer, as always."

"I thought you wouldn't be back for another week," he said, smiling at me.

I shook my head in response, grinning at him. Strangely enough, he was like an uncle to me.

"My my," he said, looking me over, "you grow more and more every year."

"I'll be seventeen before I go back," I replied.

"Wow, soon enough you won't even come back anymore," he pondered.

I laughed, "I'm sure I'll visit every now and then."

"You better," he said just as someone else rushed into the office.

"I saw the bus go by! Is she here?" It was Mr. Pendanski, of course.

"What up, Mr. P?" I asked, nodding to him as he caught sight of me.

"Chloe! It's so good to have you back. Camp Green Lake just isn't the same without you." He hugged me as well.

I couldn't help but laugh again, "I know, I know."

"Come on, I'll grab your suitcase. I'm sure Lou is just dying to see you," Mr. P said as he took my suitcase by the handle and headed towards the exit.

"See you later, Mr. Sir," I waved goodbye as I followed Mr. P out of the office.

"The boys are still out digging their holes, so you'll have plenty of time to unpack before you can go say hi to your friends." Mr. P said, keeping the conversation going.

"How is D-Tent?" I asked. "Any newcomers?"

"Tyler, Brian, Peter, and Troy have all completed their time here since you left,"

"Really?" I asked, happily. "Thank God, I couldn't stand the thought of having to deal with them for one more summer."

"Yes, they definitely never stopped trying to make trouble with you or with anyone for that matter," he consented. "I'm sure you'll meet the new boys later tonight, if you decide to visit."

"Of course I'm going to visit them. X-Ray, Armpit, and Squid are still here, right?"

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes as he was the only one who did not succumb to calling the boys' by their nicknames. "Rex, Theodore, and Alan are still here for another year, I believe."

We stopped, having reached the cabin.

"Well, Chloe, I better get back to work. I still have another round of water to distribute," he handed me my suitcase. "See you later."

He quickly left me in front of my home and I knocked on the door, knowing fully well that my mother kept it locked at all times, whether she was in it or not.

A moment later, I saw her take a quick peek through the curtains to see that it was me standing on her doorstep before she immediately opened the door and pulled me into a tight hug, "Chloe! Oh, I was just wondering when you were going to get back!"

"Hi, mom," I said brightly.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," she spoke excitedly and then ushered me inside. "Come in, come in. You're letting the cold out."

In no time at all we were both in my room so that we could catch up as I unpacked my suitcase.

"So, how was school?"

"School was great," I replied, refusing to go into detail.

"Did you meet any nice boys?"

I laughed, "Plenty."

"Are you dating one?"

I knew we were going to get to this, "No, Mom."

"Why not?" She asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed.

"I don't know," I replied. "Sure the boys are nice, but I'm just not interested in any of them."

"Honey, you're almost seventeen! Are you even _attracted_ to boys?" She asked, sounding a little desperate.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, surprised. "I'm not a lesbian if that's what you're asking. Jeez, I never said the boys weren't attractive, I just haven't met the right one yet."

I heard her sigh in relief behind me as I hung my clothes up in my closet. "Well, I'm sure you'll meet the right one eventually, but, _honestly_ honey, there's nothing wrong with some casual dating until then!" she finally spoke.

I just rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'll let you finish unpacking. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

I quickly turned on my stereo, connecting my iPod to it and putting it on Fall Out Boy again and turning up the volume as loud as I felt necessary.

Within two hours I had unpacked everything in my backpack and suitcase.


	2. Meeting the New Members of DTent

Here guys, here's chapter two! And thank you so much to the first three people who reviewed, you know you are! I hope this story can meet your wonderful expectations. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review when you're done!

**Chapter Two**

**Meeting the New Members of D-Tent**

I loved my little room. I had a twin size bed covered in a purple and black comforter, black carpet, and white walls with posters of my favorite bands all over them. All of the furniture was made of light oak; the bed, the dresser, the desk. I also had a dark purple futon against the one wall.

I decided it was high time I took a shower after my long trip back from Boston. I took a thirty-minute hot shower and then picked out a black tank top advertising the album 'If' by Mindless Self Indulgence in purple and white lettering and a pair of faded, ripped jeans. I then proceeded to put on a pair of purple Chucks. I left my hair down to air-dry and didn't even bother with make-up.

I turned off the stereo and, after grabbing my huge black sunglasses, exited my room to go see what my mother was up to.

"Hey honey, all settled?" She asked as I walked into the kitchen where I found her sitting at the table, looking over some bills.

"Yep," I replied. "I'm gonna go see if the boys are back from digging."

"Okay. Dinner will be served at 7:00," she said.

I checked my watch; it was only 4:30. I had plenty of time. "Kay!" I called back as I quickly opened the front door.

Skipping out of the cabin, I swiftly made my way over to the tents.

Now, there were six tents and each tent had seven cots. Don't ask me why they only have seven. If you ask me, it would make more sense to have an even number of eight, because an eighth cot would fit in the tents and even though I had nothing against odd numbers, even numbers just made more sense when it came to quantity.

I made my way over to D-Tent, there were a couple whistles and catcalls directed my way by the newer boys, but the boys who had been here longer knew better and quickly told them to hush up. I'm sure they informed the newbies as to whom they were whistling at and that hitting on me was absolutely not permitted.

I didn't really mind the catcalls though. I understood that these guys hadn't seen a girl in a while. Besides, I grew up here, Camp Green Lake was my home, and I had seen all the different reactions to my presence as I had grown up. When I was little girl and my mother allowed me to leave the cabin under her watch, the boys were shocked to see a child on the premises, considering none of them had probably known I was there. When I started going through puberty and was allowed to leave the cabin on my own, there were boys who'd pick on me nonstop and boys who'd want to help me _come into my own_. Now that I was past puberty and all of the awkwardness that had come with it, I got whistled at. It really wasn't that big of a deal.

Finally, I was in front of D-Tent. I could hear voices from the inside, but none of them sounded familiar.

Mr. P had said that four had left, so there should only be four new ones. And that would mean that---

"And here I was, thinking I'd never see you again!" I heard a familiar voice speak up from behind me.

I turned around, smiling, to find X-Ray, with a huge grin on his face, walking over to me. "X-Ray!" I shouted, excitedly, as I ran over to him and jumped into his arms. He caught me and spun me around before putting me back down on the ground.

X-Ray had come here about the same time I had returned from school last summer. Looking at him, I could tell he had definitely changed since I last saw him. He had gained a lot more muscle and was even able to lift me now. I must say, I was impressed. I mean, these boys might be a little gimpy when they arrive, but boy do they sure leave here looking quite the opposite. And with muscles came higher ranking, and eventually leadership, here at Camp Green Lake.

"You look great, Violet," he said, complimenting me.

"So do you," I replied, smirking.

Some of the boys at Camp Green Lake thought we were a couple, another reason why they didn't bother me much recently, but we weren't. X-Ray and I had always just been friends. Close friends, yes, but nothing more. He wasn't in to me and I wasn't in to him. I had been the first person to treat him nicely when he had arrived here and we'd been inseparable ever since. Well, except for when I was at school. But we did write to each other throughout this past school year.

The girls I shared a dorm with always thought I was writing to my boyfriend, though they didn't understand why I just didn't use email. Not wanting them to know the truth about my home, I just told them I preferred doing it the old fashioned way and they dubbed me off as weird. I didn't care.

"Hey Pit! Get over here!" I heard X-Ray yell, pulling me out of my reverie.

I looked over to see Armpit and Squid coming back from the showers.

"Hey, look!" Armpit exclaimed as he hit Squid in the arm to get his attention. "Our girl's back!"

Squid looked up and grinned at me. "See, I told you she'd be back any day now, X. There was no need to worry," he said as he chewed on his toothpick.

All three boys were clean and dressed in their relaxation clothes.

I hugged both Armpit and Squid. I was so happy to be home with my boys. Of course, these boys were just newbies when I had left.

"So, X-Ray, I heard Pain, Choke, Bear and Tricks are gone now, so doesn't that make you the new leader?"

He nodded, "I've been leader for the past four months now," he answered.

"That's awesome! So, when can I meet the new guys?" I asked.

"You can meet them now if you want," he said. "Come on, I'll introduce you." He took my hand and led me up the steps and into D-Tent.

"Yo, everybody better be decent," he called out as we entered the tent with Armpit and Squid right behind us. "I have an announcement to make!"

I watched as two boys stopped in their tracks and quickly turned to face X-Ray. "Guys, this is Violet and no one touches her unless she says its okay. Got it?"

The two guys nodded their heads immediately after he was done speaking. "Dude, don't tell me their accepting girls now?" The one asked. He was Hispanic and just an inch taller than me, maybe. I only stood at 5'6".

"Of course not, Mag. Violet is the Warden's daughter, so let me repeat; do not touch her unless she says it's okay or else you'll be back on the bus and finishing your sentence in jail."

"Hey, man, we got it," 'Mag' said, putting his hands up as if he were surrendering.

"Vi, this is Magnet," he gestured to the Hispanic boy, "and Barfbag." This boy was several inches taller than Magnet, with dark blonde hair and boring brown eyes.

I grimaced at his name. When you get a name like that, it's pretty obvious as to _why_ you got that name.

"And over there on the last cot is Zero," X-Ray added, pointing to a little boy with curly hair I hadn't noticed at first.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them cheerfully and then realized that someone was missing. "Wait a minute, there were four vacancies, X," I quickly turned to face him.

"Zigzag's in the Wreck Room watching TV," Magnet spoke up, answering my question.

I nodded, a little worried about this Zigzag. "That TV's been broken since last summer when Pain and Bear got into that huge fight…"

"Yeah, well, Zigzag's a weird dude," Squid cut in.

I was a little nervous now about meeting this Zigzag. He sounded a little crazy if he was watching a broken TV.

"Come on, Violet. I bet you haven't seen the Wreck Room yet since you've gotten back."

I grinned, "No, I certainly haven't. So, what have you guys managed to break since I've been gone?"

"Eh, a few things here and there," X-Ray responded.

"You know, I tried to get Mother to redo the Wreck Room, but after having done so a couple times already, she refuses to even bother anymore because she knows now that you guys'll just break everything all over again."

"Ha, you got that right," Armpit said, laughing.

*

I was sitting in the Wreck Room watching TV, when I heard footsteps come up behind me.

"Hey, Zig," I heard X-Ray call out my name.

I turned around to see him with Armpit and Squid. My eyes went wide and I almost gasped aloud when I saw the person standing between X-Ray and Armpit though. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen before. Her hair was like fire, it was orange (with a few random streaks of blonde in it) and wavy and gorgeous. Her skin was pale with a perfect complexion. She didn't have the freckles that most redheads had. She appeared to be average height for a girl, but she looked frail; thin and dainty.

Then my paranoia sunk in.

"Guys, get away from her! She's a spy!" I yelled, pushing them back away from her.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

I froze immediately, until I realized it was the girl who had spoken.

Wow, that was creepy. She sounded just like the Warden when she said that.

She looked at me and then she looked at X-Ray, Armpit, and Squid as if to say 'who is this guy?'

X-Ray quickly returned to her side, "Dude, it's cool. Violet's not a spy."

"That's what she wants you to think," I pointed my finger in his face. "But I know better!"

"Zig," Squid said, coming up behind me and resting his elbow on my shoulder. "Seriously, we _know_ Vi, she's not a spy."

"Yeah, right," I said, not believing a single word.

"Violet, this is Zigzag, but don't mind him. He suffers from acute paranoia; he thinks every new person is a spy at first," Squid told her, ignoring me.

She nodded; it looked like she was checking me out.

Was she checking me out? No, I bet she was just sizing me up to see how hard it would be to take me down. Yeah, I bet that's what she's doing because now that she knows that _I_ know her secret, she's going to have to get rid of me. I'm going have to keep an eye on this girl at all times.

*

I was shocked to meet this strange boy they called Zigzag. The first thing I noticed about him was his crazy hair; it stood up like curly fluff in every possible direction. It was such a mess, yet a distinctive one.

But did he really think I was a spy?

Really looking at him, I was surprised to say that I found him semi-attractive. His hair wasn't so bad after staring at it for over a minute and he had the most gorgeous electric blue eyes I had ever seen on anyone. Not to mention, he was tall; probably over 6 feet tall. That was definitely a plus.

"I didn't know Camp Green Lake was accepting girls now…" Zigzag said after staring at me for over a minute.

Okay, the spy part was one thing, but I could definitely not hold in my laughter after he said that! I keeled over, laughing like a maniac and causing every single person in the room to stare at me.

Finally, I controlled my laughter and stood up straight, "Do I _look_ like a delinquent to you?"

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and concentration. "A little bit," he answered, looking me over. "You come across as someone who would like a little excitement in your life once in a while, but you look way too fragile to be able to hack it out at Camp Green Lake for a day."

***

I do love this chapter. Or maybe I just love the ending. I hope you liked it to. Now, please leave a review and have a nice day!

xoxo,

InAnotherLife11


	3. Evil?

Chapter Three

Evil?

"Ohhhh, man, you did not just say that," Squid cut in, apparently psyched at the fact that I had just called this girl fragile.

I didn't look at him though; I was too shocked by the sudden change in expression that crossed the girl's face as I spoke.

"Really?" She asked, stepping closer in order to get in my face.

I nodded. I wasn't afraid of this little girl.

She then gave me a smirk of pure evil and shook her head at me. "Boy, I'll show you just how much a dainty little girl like me can hack. You just wait."

Up close, I was shocked to see the color of her eyes; originally, I had thought them to be blue but in reality they were a deep violet color and they darkened as she glared at me. It was such a sudden change I almost forgot to breathe.

And then she was gone.

She had left the Wreck Room without so much as a glance back at any of us. I hope they hadn't put her in D-Tent, but then again, she had come in here with three of my tent members so it was extremely likely that she was. This was not good, not one bit. She was the last person I would ever want to share a tent with, not with those _evil,_ sparkling violet eyes.

"Zig, man, you're such a idiot!" X-Ray exclaimed after she left.

"What is she doing here?" I asked, not caring what he said to me. "Aren't there detention camps for girls where they could send her?"

"Dude, she's not one of us," Armpit answered.

"Then why is she here?" I asked, more confused than ever.

"She's the Warden's daughter, man," X-Ray was the one to answer this time.

"_What?_" I asked, more shocked than I have been all day. "Why in the world would you wanna hang out with the Warden's daughter! That woman is _evil!_"

I was surprised that the Warden even _had_ a daughter. I don't know what kind of guy would be willing to make a child with her, let alone have _sex_ with her! He must have been crazy! Or maybe she drugged him and raped him in order to get pregnant so that she could create another evil female spawn that's just as awful as her… or worse.

I wouldn't put it past the woman.

"Look, Violet's not like her. The Warden and Vi are like complete opposites almost. She was the first person I met after Mr. Sir and she's been a close friend to me ever since, so no more of that spy crap, you got it?"

Without even bothering to wait for a response, he then stomped off to I don't care where.

I shook my head at them. She was definitely a spy. She probably only hung out with him and the other campers in order to get all the dirt on them so that she could run back and tell mommy. Well, I wouldn't fall for her tricks.

After my infuriating meeting with the camp's psychopath, I quickly exited the Wreck Room although I had no idea where else to go. I had said hello to Mr. Sir and Mr. P, the boys were already done digging, there weren't any fresh meat, and all the D-Tent boys were still in the Wreck Room. I was already unpacked and I still had two hours until dinner.

"Yo, Vi, wait up!"

I turned around to see X-Ray running to catch up with me. I stopped for a moment until he had reached me, then we started walking back to D-Tent together.

"Look, don't worry about Zig, he'll come around once he gets used to you."

I nodded. "I don't understand how he could think I'm a spy. I'm sixteen years old. I mean, I go to a boarding school focused on the _Arts_. A secret agent would be the _last_ thing I would know how to do."

He laughed, "Yeah, but Zig doesn't know any of that."

"True," I agreed.

"So how _is_ school?" He asked, changing the subject as we entered D-Tent. I sat down on the first cot, knowing fully well that it was his. He sat down right next to me.

I sighed, thinking about school.

"They still givin' you a hard time?" He asked, sounding like he'd enjoy pummeling anyone who bothered me.

"No, I think they've learned to accept the weird girl from down south. I've managed to make some friends finally."

"What about boyfriends?" X-Ray asked, like the prying best friend he was.

I sighed a little deeper this time.

"What is it, Vi?"

"There was this one boy. We dated for about five months… and then I found out he had been cheating on me the entire time. And what's worse is he even tried to blame it on the other girl, but I saw right through it."

"I'm sorry, Vi," X-Ray said, rubbing my back.

I nodded, "I'm okay. I should have known he was too good to be true from the beginning. It's just that, other than him… well, it seems like boys don't even notice me. Not at all. I'm not even the best friend suffering from unrequited love. It's like they just don't want me around at all; like I'm defective or something. Maybe I _am_ defective… I mean, I've grown up surrounded by juvenile delinquents and adults. Maybe I just don't know how to be around normal guys…"

"Vi, you are _not_ defective and if they can't see that then they don't deserve you. So what if you've spent your life around delinquents? It just means you know how to deal with people most people _don't_ know how to deal with."

I nodded, "How is it that you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better?" I asked, letting out a small laugh but it sounded more like a sob as tears began to form in my eyes as I remembered my days at school. I quickly wiped away the tears before they could fall.

"I grew up with two older sisters and one younger sister. Trust me; I know exactly what to say to a girl in any situation," he replied simply.

I laughed, for real this time, managing to hold in any more unwanted sobs.

We continued to chat for the next hour and then the dinner bell rang. It was time for X-Ray to go eat dinner with the other boys.

"Will you come hang with us after dinner?" He asked, looking hopeful.

I nodded, smiling. "Of course, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time."

"Good," he smiled back at me before leaving me in the tent to go to the Mess Hall.

I sat there for a couple minutes, thinking about our long conversation. I had told him more stuff about boarding school and he had told me of the events that have been going on here while I was gone. Then Zigzag had popped into my head again as I remembered what X-Ray had said about him.

_What a weird kid_, I thought, and then laughed at the thought of someone actually thinking I was a spy.

After dinner, we were all sitting in the tent, lounging around on our cots as we played a game of Crazy Eights.

Then, just as it was my turn, I heard someone call from outside "Everybody better be decent!" just as the spy, or Violet as X-Ray called her, walked in.

Of course, we were all dressed, though some of us (X-Ray, Squid, and I) were shirtless. I quickly took a clean t-shirt from my cubbyhole and pulled it on.

She looked around at us, and then the tent, and then her eyes focused in on me, "Oh, come on, Ziggy! You don't have to put your shirt on just because of me! I swear I didn't bring my flesh-burning laser."

Of course, she thought this was funny and so did everyone else as they were all now laughing at me. But as far as I was concerned, whether or not she brought it with her, she _did_ have a flesh-burning laser.

"Yeah, you guys think it's funny now, until she pulls it out and zaps you," I muttered irritably.

If push came to shove, I would have to take this spy down myself…

When I walked into the tent, I wasn't too surprised to see a couple of the boys shirtless. Except for Zigzag; he looked better with his shirt off than he did with it on.

_Damn, look at those muscles!_ His biceps were beautiful, his chest was broad, and his abs… oh, his abs almost had me drooling. But I hid my reaction from all of them carefully.

A moment later, I saw Zigzag pull a shirt over his head and I just _had_ to crack a joke at him. I was definitely getting on his bad side. I could tell. But it didn't matter. I was probably better off on his bad side because _then_ I couldn't try to make a move on him…

Wait… why would I want to make a move on the psychopath?

I wouldn't. He's crazy. Besides, even if I did try, he'd probably be too distracted thinking I was about to kill him!

"So, what are you guys playing?" I asked, sitting down between X-Ray and Armpit.

"Crazy Eights, wanna join?" X-Ray replied.

I had no idea how to play that one, "No thanks, I just came to hang out."

"Can't you hang out in your fancy cabin with air-conditioning?" Zigzag spoke up, boldly.

I shook my head, "Nah, I actually prefer the heat."

He then proceeded to look at me like I was crazy, but he was too surprised to form an answer to that one.

Zigzag ended up ignoring me for the rest of evening until Mr. P came into the tent at 9:00pm to tell me it was time for lights out and that I should go back to the cabin now. I reluctantly followed his orders and said goodnight to the boys. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Back at the cabin, I was bored. I wasn't tired even though I knew I should sleep if I wanted to get up early tomorrow.

I sighed and changed into my pajamas; a tank top and boys' boxers. I got into bed anyway and willed myself to go to sleep for a while, until I finally did.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.


	4. Digging

**Chapter Four**

**Digging**

The alarm went off at 4:30am, just like it did every morning. I groaned as I pulled myself up off my cot.

I hadn't slept well that night; I was up for several hours thinking about the spy. I kept trying to come up with a good enough plan to out her or get rid of her, but knowing how spies work, she'd probably catch on to my plans before I could put them into action.

Deciding to put her out of my mind for the time being, I yawned and quickly pulled on my jumpsuit and boots, heading outside with the others for breakfast.

And just as I was about to take a bit of my tortilla and honey, I almost dropped it when I heard _her_ voice call out a cheerful "Good morning, boys!"

I whirled around in shock to find the spy dressed in her very own orange jumpsuit with a shovel already in hand.

X-Ray quickly grinned and walked up to her, giving her a pat on the back. "Digging already, Vi?" He handed her his uneaten tortilla and then got another one for himself.

She just shrugged, smiling at him, "What else is there to do around here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" I blurted out, irritably, as I got closer to the two of them.

"Hey, Ziggy!" she exclaimed as if she was happy to me. I really wished she'd stop calling me that. "I'm here to dig, obviously," she added, shoving her shovel in my face to prove her point. "So, are you still convinced I'm a spy?" she asked, taking a large bite of her tortilla while she waited for me to respond.

She took rather huge bites for a girl. I thought girls only took little, neat bites, as that was how _ladies_ were trained. The only similarity she had to a _real_ girl eating was that she at least kept her mouth shut while she chewed.

"I _know_ you're a spy," I replied, boldly. "But, I must say, I can't wait to see you actually try to dig. I bet you won't even be able to break through the surface."

"Oh really?" she asked, looking intrigued.

I nodded.

"And what exactly is it that we're betting on?" she asked boldly, stepping closer to me. She had to look up in order to meet my eyes while she stood so close to me.

I saw X-Ray shake his head out of the corner of my eye. "Zig, you're such of fool," he muttered to himself before walking over to converse with the other boys.

But I ignored him as my eyes widened at her challenge, "Oh no, I'm not making any bets with _you!_"

"And why not?" she asked, looking partially disappointed and partially offended.

"Because you're a spy; I bet you'll find a way to cheat!"

She scoffed, "You are a _serious_ mental case; you know that?" She asked, obviously annoyed. "But no biggie, the pleasure of proving you wrong will feel way better than taking anything you could possibly give me." And with those last words she gave me one last smirk before following the truck out to the digging site with the rest of D-Tent.

Probably a good thing we're not actually betting anything, I figured as I walked silently next to X-Ray out to the holes. Zigzag wouldn't have stood a chance in that bet. Poor soul doesn't have a _clue._ I mean, seriously. I was born and raised on this land. If he thought I didn't know how to dig a hole, he had another thing coming.

I was the _queen_ of digging holes here at Camp Green Lake.

I remember back when I was little and I had begged my mom to let me dig holes with the boys. I wanted so badly to learn how to dig a proper hole and please my mother with how good I was at it.

I was also sick of being cooped up in the cabin every single day and would have done practically anything just in order to go outside and get some fresh air.

When I was six my mother finally decided that it was time I learned how to dig.

She had woken me up really early one morning; maybe an hour or so before the campers usually woke up.

It was still terribly dark outside, so she had gathered up two large flashlights and two shovels and headed outside. She took me to an area nearby where there were a few sparse holes and directed me to a particular spot.

That was when I first learned the perfect technique that was necessary if I wanted to dig the best hole faster than everyone else.

I had watched her intently as she carefully used her shovel to create the perfect outline of a circle in the dirt that was five feet in diameter. Of course, at age six I wasn't even five feet tall yet, but that wasn't going to stop me.

After that she began to dig out the foundation of the hole to show me how to properly hold and maneuver the shovel so that I was able to dig fast without wasting too much energy as I did so.

Then she told me to try it.

I remember how she had mentioned that she was only six years old when her granddaddy had forced her to start digging holes, but he was never one to bother with technique, she had to learn that all by herself.

But she had also made sure that I knew I was _not_ being forced to dig holes. That's what the boys were for. But because I had begged her so many times, she had decided that I should at least know how to do it. It was also a very useful activity for building up my strength.

"_Real women are strong; inside and out, Chloe,"_ that was what she had said.

So I learned how to dig holes. I would wake up a couple hours earlier than everyone else and sneak outside with my shovel and my flashlight and I would start digging that day's hole. Then when the morning alarm went off, I would rush back inside and wait until after the boys had eaten dinner and returned to their tents to come back out and finish my hole.

Soon enough, I wasn't just digging holes. I was digging _perfect_ holes. In just a short matter of time I had become a digging expert at six years old.

Mother didn't approve much of my sneaking out in the dark, but she knew I wasn't one to be stopped when I had put my mind to something.

"Hey Violet!" Someone suddenly called out, pulling me out of my reverie.

I looked up to see Zigzag watching me carefully.

Of course, it would be him.

Although the fact that he had actually called me by my nickname had surprised me.

"Are you gonna stand there all day and watch or are you gonna dig?" He asked mockingly.

I smirked at the boy as I held my shovel the same way my mother had taught me so many years ago before I replied, "I thought I'd give you a ten minute head start because, trust me, you're going to need it."

He just shook his head at me and went back to digging while I marked the outline of my hole with my shovel.

A couple hours after we started digging, I had to take a break and rest for a minute.

Looking over at Violet, I noticed she appeared to be deeper in the dirt than the rest of us. From what I could judge by her height and how deep in the hole she stood, she was definitely farther than me. She was almost as fast as Zero as I saw he was just as deep in his hole as she was, if not more.

The joke was that Zero was a mole or a worm or something like that, but somehow that little kid managed to beat every single one of us at the end of every day.

I wish I knew how he did it; he's only been here for a couple months, three or four at the most. I remember he showed up about a month after I had. At least I think it was a month, and somewhere in between that time Barfbag had showed up about a week after me and Magnet about a week after that.

I didn't even want to remember the guys who were here before them. Choke, Bear, and Tricks had all been complete brutes, to be honest. They were cruel, tough, and ruder than anyone I've ever met.

I heard the guy I replaced, Pain, was even worse. Back then, D-Tent had been one of the scarier tents. I don't even know what those boys did to get into this place, but I knew it was worse than the crimes the rest of us had tried to pull.

Now, D-Tent was actually an okay group. None of us caused that much trouble and X-Ray was really good about appearing tough and still keeping everyone in line, and not just with us but with everyone. Ever since the older D-Tenters had left, he was always saying how if we do something to get in trouble now the Warden was really going to come down hard on us. We had, had too many warnings before, because of the older guys. And what I knew from the short amount of time that I knew them, they were _always_ causing trouble.

I was glad those guys were gone.

Looking back at Violet, I saw that she was only getting deeper in her hole.

How did she do it?

She was so thin and frail, there was no way she could really be digging that hole all by herself without any outside help.

Maybe it was the shovel. Maybe it was a special type of shovel, a mechanical shovel that basically did the work for you while it just _looks_ like you're doing the work.

I remembered how when she came out of the Warden's cabin and greeted us, she already had the shovel in her hand. So, it wasn't one of our shovels. Besides, there was an exact amount of shovels, for the exact amount of delinquents.

It _must_ be a mechanical shovel…

But inspecting the shovel in her hands a little closer, it looked like just a normal shovel. Gazing up from the shovel, I noticed Violet's arms, as she had already removed the upper half of her jumpsuit and had tied the sleeves around her waist to reveal the purple tank top underneath, and I was surprised when I noticed the muscles stretching and contracting underneath her skin.

She was definitely the one doing the digging all right, although I don't know where she got the strength to complete a giant hole.

Unless there was some other way she was cheating…

Man, stop it, she's not cheating. You saw it for yourself, she's the one doing the work.

God, I really need to stop letting my paranoia get to me.

People think I'm crazy enough already, I need to stop letting the crazy take over.

I can be normal. I wasn't always paranoid. It's just like the therapist said, I need to learn how to _control_ it.

Digging helped with controlling it; digging took my mind off of all the crazy thoughts that are always swimming around in my brain the rest of the time.

Now, I just needed to learn how to take that concentration and apply it to when I'm _not_ digging.

Too bad it doesn't work that way.

I never met my mother's granddaddy, Charles Walker (also known as Trout Walker), but I've heard plenty of stories about him from my mother.

Her parents died when she was just a toddler in a terrible plane crash and so she had spent the majority of her life with her grandparents. Like I already mentioned, Trout Walker forced her to dig for him when she was only six years old after he had become too old to dig himself. She always complained about how he would make her dig every single day of the year, even on Christmas.

He was a cruel, merciless brute, Trout was.

The whole thing started back when Trout was young and his own father had owned the lake and half of the town. The town was called Green Lake and was considered to be 'heaven on earth' way back in the day when everything was green and in bloom and the lake was crystal clear and absolutely stunning to look at.

Trout had fallen in… well, I wouldn't call it _love_ but I'm sure you know what I mean… Anyway, he had become smitten with the young schoolteacher, Miss Katherine Barlow.

She was the prettiest girl in town and he had every intention to make her his wife.

The only problem was that Miss Katherine wanted nothing to do with Trout Walker and turned him down flat.

One dark rainy night, Trout happened to pass by the schoolhouse on his horse and found Miss Katherine kissing the onion picker. In a jealous rage he rounded up all the men in the town and together they torched the schoolhouse, burnt the whole thing down.

It had all started when the onion picker made a deal with Miss Katherine to fix the roof for a few jars of her famous spiced peaches and, after that, Miss Katherine just kept finding things for the onion picker to fix until the schoolhouse was completely immaculate. The schoolhouse had become the prettiest schoolhouse in all of Texas thanks to the onion picker's handiwork with a hammer and a paintbrush.

It was after that, that Trout had found the two kissing. My guess is that the two must have become close friends during the time he was fixing up the schoolhouse and over time they had grown feelings for each other. But still, after all the hard work put into the little schoolhouse, for Trout to just torch the place…

It was a low blow from Trout Walker if you ask me.

Education mattered, but obviously not to Trout.

Anyway.

Miss Katherine had tried to stop them, but who can stop a raging mob? Especially one led by a drunk and pissed off Trout Walker?

She ran for help but no one would help her because she had kissed a black man, and that black man would be hung for kissing a while girl.

Of course, the onion picker wasn't hung as originally planned. He had tried to escape in his rowboat across the lake. But his two arms and oars weren't fast enough to escape Trout Walker in his brand new motorboat.

That night, Trout Walker shot the black onion picker himself and killed him.

And according to the story… or, at least, according to my great grandmother (she was the one who told my mother these stories as my great grandfather had always refused to speak of Miss Katherine and the onion picker) it hasn't rained here ever since, and that was over a hundred years ago.

Mother said that afterward, Miss Katherine had become an outlaw. She started with the Sherriff of Green Lake and gave him her first kiss. A kiss of death. Then she rode on out of town to become one of the most famous outlaws around; Kissin' Kate Barlow.

Why she chose to give her first kiss to the Sherriff I'm not exactly sure. I wasn't there. But I know that if I were in her shoes, the first person I would have kissed would have been Trout Walker.

Hands down.

Years later, after she had grown tired of being an outlaw, she was found by Trout in the middle of the desert (or what used to be the lake), propped up against the very same boat the onion picker had died in out in the open. Trout had pulled his rifle on her, ready to shoot at any moment, but first he wanted to know where her loot was.

Over the years, rumors had spread that Katherine had managed to procure a very large amount of money and gold which she had stolen from all of her victims whether she had left them dead or alive.

And for _years,_ he had been so determined to find her and prove to her for once and for all that _nobody says no to Trout Walker_.

But he would lose.

Katherine refused to tell him. Trout and his wife (Linda Walker, my great grandmother, who used to be Linda Miller and had even been a favorite student of Katherine's back in the good ol' days), had surmised that she must have buried it somewhere in the desert and demanded she tell them where, but still she would not say.

My great grandmother had said that by then, Miss Katherine must have been half-crazy because before they made their presence known, they had found her staring at the air in front of her face and talking to Sam, the onion picker, as if he was right there next to her.

Suddenly, a yellow spotted lizard had appeared out from under the boat and while Trout and his wife had stepped back immediately, Katherine welcomed the small creature and allowed it to bite her arm, but not before telling Trout one last thing, _"You, your children, and your children's children can dig for the next hundred years and you'll never find it."_

Then the lizard bit her and she died laughing.

According to my own calculations, it has been a hundred years since that day and no one has ever found the treasure. Sometimes, I wondered if I would. My generation hadn't been included in her curse. I was the child of the children's children and the one hundred years were over.

I figured it would be found eventually.

But then again, who knows if there really ever was a treasure? I don't and neither does my mother, neither did Trout Walker. For all we know, she had only _implied_ that there was a treasure in order to torture Trout because she _knew _he would continue to search for it. She knew he would dig because Trout Walker never gave up when he wanted something badly enough.

And he wanted that treasure _bad_.

I also wondered what would happen if we ever did find Katherine Barlow's treasure. Would my mother still keep the camp? Would we move away to somewhere nicer? I didn't know. Mother never talked about what would happen afterward, she was too busy worrying about finding it first.

Finally, Mr. Sir arrived with the water truck and I quickly got out of my hole and headed to the front of the line.

As I took my place in front of X-Ray, who nodded at me, a certain someone apparently had something to say.

"Hey, why does she get to be at the front of the line?" Zigzag questioned angrily as Mr. Sir greeted me kindly and took my canteen.

I turned around quickly at the sound of his voice but X-Ray spoke up before I could, "Because she's been here longer than any of us, Zig."

"She just showed up yesterday," he argued, furious that he would have to wait behind one more person now.

"Man, I told you already, Violet is not some spy who just showed up for the first time yesterday; she's the Warden's daughter and she's lived here her whole life!"

"Yeah," I cut in, smirking at the crazy-haired boy. "I was _born_ here, Ziggy."

Zigzag gave me a look of shock before shaking his head and returning to his spot in the line, between Squid and Barfbag.

I grinned knowingly as I spun back around to take my filled canteen, thanked Mr. Sir, and skipped my way back to my hole.


	5. Struggles and Outbursts

**Chapter Five**

**Struggles and Outbursts**

I could not believe her. She's been here one day and she's already at the front of the line. She must have done something, she must have brainwashed every single person here except me!

That's why I'm the only one who doesn't adore her!

She's gotten to _everyone!_

Even the counselors, Mr. Sir, and the Warden…

They all actually _believe _that she is the Warden's daughter, but she's not.

She's obviously someone sent by the CIA to kill me.

I must have done something, figured something out, and now I'm on their radar and they won't quit until I'm dead.

Oh man, I'm screwed!

She's going to kill me and then she's going to get rid of my body and no one will know it was her.

By the end of it, I'll be gone and no one will know what happened.

My parents won't even be able to give me a proper funeral ceremony and burial!

Maybe I should write to them, let them know what's going on… but what good would that do?

For all I know she's got everyone wrapped around her little finger and no one's going to stop her from going through my mail and discarding it before it can be sent off to my mother.

They'll probably tell her that I ran away or something like that and never found my body.

She'll never know what really happened.

Oh God, what am I gonna _do?_

I won't let her get to me, that's what I'll do.

I don't know anything about the CIA or what they do. Maybe if I tell her that earnestly enough, she'll believe me and go back to wherever she came from.

Yeah right. Dream on, Zigzag. You're not going to get away _that_ easily.

Thinking about Trout Walker all day, I couldn't help but get a song stuck in my head that for some reason always reminded me of the relationship between Miss Katherine and my grandfather.

First, I started humming the tune and then, finally, I began to sing the lyrics out loud as I dug.

"_Ah, surprises sentenced with the sting of sight  
Between the color the black and white of what you see  
I feel a stranger coming onto me  
I brought it on but I could never be the one to get to the point and shut up_

__

Ask for her another day  
Ask for something worth the price you have to pay

_The stakes are up and your odds are down  
Step right up for another round  
There's spades up your sleeve, there's sweat on your brow  
And I will be damned if I let you back into this town_

_You describe intentions with an olive branch  
You've made a killing and a lot of fans except for me  
The way you speak is contradictory  
I know the lies you told them back to me  
Why don't you get to the point and shut up?_

__

Ask for her another day  
Ask for something worth the price you have to pay

_The stakes are up and your odds are down  
Step right up for another round  
There's spades up your sleeve, there's sweat on your brow  
And I will be damned if I let you back into this town"_

I continued to hum to the tune to the song's piano solo in my head until the words started up again.

__

"Ask for her another day  
Ask for something worth the price you have to pay

_The stakes are up and your odds are down  
Step right up for another round_

_Step right up for another round  
Another round  
You're going nowhere_

_The stakes are up and your odds are down  
Step right up for another round  
Another round_

_Another round_

_Another town that's going nowhere  
There's spades up your sleeve, there's sweat on your brow  
And I will be damned if I let you back into this town  
There's spades up your sleeve, there's sweat on your brow  
And I will be damned If I let you back into this town"_

"What the hell was that?" I suddenly heard someone speak up.

I looked up to see all of the boys watching me as I continued to dig, but it was Zigzag who spoke.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Was that you singing?" Zigzag asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"What's it matter to you?" I questioned.

"It's the strangest song I've ever heard," he continued.

"Well, I've certainly heard stranger," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" He asked, though he spoke as if he were only talking to himself.

"Still think I'm a spy, Ziggy?" I asked playfully.

"What do you think?" He shot back sarcastically.

"I'll take that as a _yes_," I muttered to myself, not bothering to look up from my digging.

Man, she had a pretty voice.

I had never pegged her for the singing type.

Although that song was definitely _weird_.

I wonder what kind of music she listens to. Back when I was at home and could listen to music, I mainly preferred the heavy stuff. The harsh strum of rock guitars and bass guitars and drums and screaming lyrics were the perfect cure for when I wanted to rid myself of all my thoughts. I would just lay on my bed with my stereo blasting and let every fiber of my being be absorbed into the music.

It was the only way I could let my mind rest, the only way to rid myself of all my crazy thoughts.

The therapist I used to see had once suggested that I join a sports team, like football or soccer, that way I could physically work out all of my energy and put all my concentration into the game.

Now that I know how digging can basically do the same thing for me, I know that he was probably right… but I just wasn't the team-spirited type of guy, I didn't work well with others.

I was probably better off working out my issues alone or else I could have ended up in juvi even sooner.

Although, I doubt my sentence would have been as long if I had just beaten some kid bloody instead of burning down a part of the school.

But it was too late to fix my actions now.

I hadn't joined a sports team.

I _had_ burned down the brand new gymnasium and even though it was an accident, it was still pretty much my fault.

And I still had another fifteen months to go if I've kept track of my time here correctly.

I was almost done my hole. I just had to scrape out the sides a bit and perfect the bottom of the hole when I heard someone throw down their shovel. I looked up to watch Zero jump out of his hole, spit in it, pick up his shovel and canteen and begin walking back to camp.

"He's _done?_" Was the first thing that came out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

I was shocked.

No one was ever done before me.

I immediately jumped out of my hole to examine Zero's work.

His hole was perfect. Absolutely perfect. How the hell had someone so small dug a hole so fast like that? Especially the _newest_ camp member!

I had been working my way through the new boys' files in my attempts to learn as much about these boys as possible and I _knew_ that Zero had only been here for about a few pathetic months. There was no way he could already be digging faster than everyone else, including _me._

"Yeah, Vi, Zero's the fastest digger ever," Armpit suddenly piped in.

"_I_ am the fastest digger ever!" I exclaimed angrily.

"Hey, Vi, don't sweat it," X-Ray quickly cut in, immediately picking up on my anger. "You just need to get back into the groove of things. Trust me; you'll be digging faster than him in no time."

Of course, X-Ray knew that I viewed digging holes as the one thing I was better than everybody else at. It had been my life. For someone to dig faster than me after all these years was a _big deal_ for someone like me.

I fumed for a moment as I stood over the kid's hole before I finally marched back to my own hole and begin finishing it in a fury.

_No one_ ever beat me at digging.

Tomorrow, I would beat him.

I just had to.

I didn't understand why Violet had gotten so upset about Zero beating her at digging.

Zero beat _everyone_ at digging.

If she really was a spy and had just showed up here yesterday, she can't really expect to be the best on her first day.

But if she really is the Warden's daughter, like X-Ray says, and has really spent her whole life here, then I suppose it would be understandable for her to have such an outburst.

Of course, if she really _has_ been here before, if she really was _born_ here, then _who knows_ how long she has actually been digging.

Did the Warden force her to dig? Did the Warden teach her to dig? Has she made her dig every day that she's here like she does us?

I didn't believe any mother could be that cruel…

But the Warden wasn't just any mother or woman. She was the Warden of Camp Green Lake; a juvenile detention center where boys are sent to dig giant holes as punishment and to think about all the wrong choices they've made that had gotten them there. She was a cruel and unforgiving human being… if she was human at all.

She had no feelings, no morality.

She was the most evil woman I have ever had the chance to meet.

Except maybe my tenth grade math teacher, now that woman was _pure_ evil…

The Warden didn't take lip from nobody; she was a one-woman show in the midst of forty-two delinquent boys, six male counselors, and one wannabe cowboy.

She was the boss out here in the desert and if you pissed _her_ off, you were in some seriously deep trouble.

Once I had finished perfecting my hole, which was twenty minutes after Zero had left, I quickly jumped out of my hole, spit in it, and left.

Normally, I was pretty satisfied after a day of digging but _now_, I had nothing to be satisfied about.

I felt cheated, ripped off, and frustrated.

There was no way that kid could beat me again.

Tomorrow I would put a serious amount of effort into finishing faster than I've ever finished before.

Zero could certainly count on that.

I spent the rest of the day and night inside the cabin. As much as I wanted to hang out with D-Tent, I couldn't stand the idea of seeing Zero's face right now.

It just wouldn't have been a good idea to confront him, let alone be _near_ him, while I'm still furious about him beating me.

I was surprised when Violet didn't come around the rest of the day. It didn't seem like normal behavior for her. She seemed as if she always spent her free time with the boys when she was here even though I'd only known her for a day.

It was just sort of weird without her there.

I could tell the other boys (X-Ray, Armpit, and Squid) were obviously concerned that she hadn't shown up but they wouldn't say anything about it in front of us (Barfbag, Magnet, and myself).

Zero was silent as usual.

I wish I the other guys would include me, but why would they? They've known Violet since last summer and I just met her yesterday. Not to mention, I've made it very clear to everyone here that I don't like her.

But I don't know if that's true anymore.

I mean, I don't really know how I feel about her… but I've been trying to keep my brain on track when it comes to her so I don't go off on another train of thought about how she's a spy and the whole reason she's here is to kill me.

I don't want her to think I'm really crazy.

I'm not crazy.

I can control myself and my thoughts.

I just have to keep reminding myself about it.

I can't allow myself to sink back into another fit of paranoia.

I know I'm stronger than that.

The next morning, I didn't even bother to make normal conversation with the boys, I didn't even bother to say _hi_. I came out to meet them, dressed and ready to go with my shovel in hand, and walked with them out to the lake but I couldn't let myself get lost in pointless chitchat.

I was here to beat Zero.

Once I succeeded, I could return to normal.

_But not until then_.

Mr. Sir assigned my hole last, right after Zero was assigned his hole and once I had my spot there was no time to waste.

I outlined the boundaries of my hole and within seconds I was already beginning to dig my hole.

When Violet came out to meet us the next morning, I immediately knew something was wrong.

First of all…

She didn't say _anything_. Not one word. Not even a simple hello.

Nor was she bubbly and cheerful like her usual self, or at least like the self I expected her to be from the short amount of time that I've known her.

Second…

I could tell that X-Ray was _really_ alarmed by her behavior now. Every couple seconds he would look over at her, whether he looked to see if she was still there or just because he was concerned about her quietness, I didn't know.

But he was definitely keeping an eye on her.

Worry was evident in his eyes and the anxious way he gripped his shovel.

I assumed she must still be angry about Zero being a faster digger than her, and I had this weird feeling in the back of my head that kept telling me that if Zero managed to beat her again today, when she's so determined to finish first, all hell was going to break lose.

As I began to dig my own hole, I watched her as she took no time planning her circle before she started digging.

Seeing the determined look on face… I hoped she would beat him.

Then maybe she could go back to normal and I wouldn't have to worry so much about her anymore.

I don't even know _why_ I'm worried about her, but something just keeps telling me to _be_ worried…

Like she could flip shit at any moment now.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. I really haven't had time to write. I hope you enoyed the chapter though.**

**Lyrics are "This Road is Going Nowhere" by The Vincent Black Shadow.**

**xoxo**

**InAnotherLife11**


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